Losing any game is always disappointing, but losing to one of your great rivals hurts just that little bit more.

That was the case for Plymouth Argyle on Saturday as they slipped to a 1-0 loss at Portsmouth, who claimed a first win in six attempts against their Dockyard rivals. But what were the big positives and negatives Argyle can take from the game?

Despite Argyle having the second-worst goal difference in League One, the Pilgrims certainly seem a lot more resolute with their defending right now.

Since Toumani Diagouraga’s arrival at Home Park, Argyle have conceded only seven goals in nine games. That in itself is an impressive statistic, but could have been better had that not included the capitulation at home to Oxford, which saw Argyle lose 4-0.

Diagouraga is by no means the sole reason for this improvement, but he has certainly played his part with the goalkeeper, back four and three central midfielders helping the Pilgrims be so hard to break down.

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Substitute Nadir Ciftci had one of the few chances for Argyle against Portsmouth with this weak shot in the closing stages of the game (Image: Dave Rowntree/PPAUK)

Lack of goals

Clean sheets are merely a starting point for a team like Argyle, who are desperately looking to improve and move away from the foot of the League One table.

They are getting some, four in the last seven games has seen some progress, but they can’t be reliant on that lone to get out of trouble. They also need a goal threat.

With seven men effectively in the team to defend, it leaves a lot of pressure on the three attacking players to come up with the goods. Others have to chip in as well, as Sonny Bradley did against Northampton recently, but it is still not enough.

The evidence we have seen so far is that this squad of players desperately lacks goals and January is promising to be a massive month for the Pilgrims with that area of weakness needing urgent attention.

But who will come? It isn’t easy to get a goal scorer, let alone a quality centre forward, midway through the season, especially if they are playing well.

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Graham Carey was taken off in the 79th minute of Argyle's away game against Portsmouth (Image: Dave Rowntree/PPAUK)

Carey form

Last month, Argyle’s talisman was waltzing towards the Sky Bet League One player of the month award with some match-winning contributions and fine goals. This month, it seems Carey has gone off the boil again.

There is no doubt that Carey is a quality player and key to Argyle’s hopes of survival. Why else would they give him a lucrative contract to keep him at the club?

On Saturday, though, Carey’s poor performance led to him being substituted, something almost unthinkable last season as he played such a prominent role in Argyle s promotion.

Carey is another player that Argyle need to step up a level and contribute more than he is. In October, he was outstanding and gave hope that Argyle could avoid the drop. In November, he’s been poor, although Argyle cannot reply on one man to provide their magic.

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Derek Adams in front of the Green Army when Argyle played Portsmouth at Fratton Park in April (Image: Dave Rowntree/PPAUK)

Something has to change

But what?

That is the big question at Home Park right now because, the way things are going, the Pilgrims are heading straight back to League Two.

Is it time for a change of manager? Would a fresh approach bring an upturn in results? Should a new man come in now to assess his players before being given January to make the changes he wants?

Or do Argyle stick it out and give Adams time to pick up points now and then give him the January window to make the necessary changes himself?

One thing is for sure and that is that Argyle cannot afford to be too far adrift of safety when the window opens. And I am sure, if he is still at the helm, Adams will not be wasting any time in bringing in players he feels can help Argyle in their fight for survival.